To complete our goal of becoming a true global player, we are looking for a MedTech injection molder in the USA as a strategic expansion to serve US customers even better: Dr. Johannis Willem van Vliet of Sanner Group

“Thanks to our people, we have a 130-year track record of growing Sanner Group year by year by being a trusted partner for our over 500 customers.”

Sanner Group was founded in Germany in 1894. With its high-quality manufacturing facilities strategically located across Germany, France, Hungary, and China, Sanner has built a reputation as a premier global provider of desiccant closures and effervescent tablet packaging. Additionally, the company is renowned for delivering tailored solutions in the medical devices and diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, and consumer healthcare sectors. Currently, Sanner distributes its offerings to over 150 countries worldwide and has a workforce exceeding 700 employees.

The Silicon Review reached out to Dr. Johannis Willem van Vliet, CEO of Sanner Group, and here’s what he had to say.

Interview Highlights

Please tell us about the circumstances or events that led to your joining Sanner Group.

Sanner Group started exactly 130 years ago in a small wine region just south of Frankfurt, Germany. Our first products were wine corks—a clever idea of Friedrich Sanner to start this local business with sufficient clients down the street. Soon after, the idea came up to grow the company further by selling corks to pharma customers for glass bottles containing medication. In the late 1950s, as injection molding was introduced to the world as a promising new production technology, Sanner embraced this innovation and switched to plastics. By integrating desiccant into our closures, Sanner defined a world standard, growing into the world-wide market leader in desiccant packaging for pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals that Sanner is today. The fourth generation of the Sanner family has decided to further expand its offering as a CDMO in MedTech and diagnostics. For this bold strategic move, they were looking for a new CEO with a technical background and experience in the development and production of high-tech medical products. Being the managing director for R&D at Ottobock in Vienna for over 10 years, I fit the search profile perfectly.

Q. What strategies does Sanner implement to exceed client expectations?

With our new majority shareholder that joined in late 2021, GHO Capital (London), we have been able to accelerate our strategy to grow our CDMO segment. In 2023, we successfully acquired Springboard Pro, a D&D house from Cambridge specializing in the development of drug delivery devices and forensic engineering. Furthermore, we are expanding production capacity with our newly opened second plant in Kunshan, China, and a new 275,000-square-foot production and R&D facility in Germany (SOP end of this year). A big focus lies, in addition, on sustainability; we will, for instance, install a significant solar panel field at our offset-printing plant in France.

Q. As a global development and manufacturing organization for active pharmaceuticals, nutraceutical packaging, drug delivery devices, diagnostic products, and medical devices, what are Sanner's key focus areas?

To successfully implement our new strategy, it is important to do this in fields where we have solid experience. This includes, of course, desiccant application, but also inhalators, diagnostic consumables, rapid testing, and auto-injectors. We will also continue our innovation and growth in our packaging offering.

Q. Can you provide us with a success story, detailing specific client challenges and how Sanner’s solutions contributed to their success?

One example of how smart medical devices can help people worldwide to have access to better functioning medical treatment is the device from OnDosis in Sweden: a programmable mini-tablet dispenser aimed at significantly increasing adherence for long-term drug therapies that require varying and accurate dosing of medication. Together with this customer, we are working on finishing the development of this exiting innovative product. Sanner is currently injection molding the various parts that go into the final assembly. The aim is to start a clinical study with the product this year. Such a project fits perfectly with our mission and claim: “Protecting Health.”.

Q. Tell us about the Sanner team. What value do they bring to the company?

The tenures of our international team members are a sign of the good company culture: from over 10 years in China to over 40 years in Europe. As pioneers of injection molding, the enormous level of experience, combined with a healthy mix of generations Y and Z, provides the highest levels of competence in the production and development of primary packaging and medical device components and assemblies. It’s not the building or the machines that define us as a company; it’s the people. Thanks to them, we have a 130-year track record of growing Sanner Group year by year by being a trusted partner for our over 500 customers. Although we now have over 700 colleagues that collaborate in various countries and have a new shareholder, we are still one big (Sanner) family.

Q. What new endeavors is Sanner currently undertaking?

The new plant we are finalizing in Germany will include Class-7 clean rooms suited for the production and assembly of mechatronic medical product components. This will add much-sought-after capabilities. With the flagship facility, our level of automation will be increased even further, e.g., by AGVs and an automated small parts warehouse. To complete our goal of becoming a true global player, we are looking for a MedTech injection molder in the USA as a strategic expansion to serve US customers even better.

Q. Is there anything you would like to add before we wrap up?

Healthcare-focused CDMOs exist. However, many are big players and will decline smaller, typically single-digit million projects, as these are considered to be too small to be significant for their growth. Still, the demand for CDMO services for these kinds of projects is growing. Many new smart medical devices will come to market. With our recent strategic investments, Sanner Group is perfectly setup to serve this growing demand, with the advantage of being leaner and more flexible than the big CDMOs, resulting in a faster time-to-market with higher quality at lower costs—that is what our customers are looking for.

Dr. Johannis Willem van Vliet | CEO

Dr. Johannis Willem van Vliet, born in the Netherlands in 1972, completed his Master of Science with a focus on production automation and robotics at the Technical University of Delft. After obtaining a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, he began his professional career at Ottobock Healthcare Products GmbH in 2002. He initially worked there as technical project manager, since 2008 as managing director of R&D, and from 2017 also as vice president. Until his move to Sanner Group, van Vliet was head of the development department of medical devices at the Vienna site.

He has been involved in numerous research projects and was a member of both the Senate and the Board of Trustees of the Christian Doppler Research Society in Vienna between 2011 and 2018. In numerous technical papers, publications, and lectures at international conferences, he dealt with topics such as design for manufacturing and the development of intelligent medical devices.

In the summer of 2019, Dr. Johannis Willem van Vliet assumed the position of Chief Technical Officer of Sanner Group, where he is responsible for production, development, and quality. Since 2020, he has also been CEO of Sanner Group. From his previous activities, he brings many years of experience in research and development as well as production and automation.

“The fourth generation of the Sanner family has decided to further expand its offering as a CDMO in MedTech and diagnostics.”

“With our new majority shareholder that joined in late 2021, GHO Capital (London), we have been able to accelerate our strategy to grow our CDMO segment.”